How long a customer waits for the first reply after contacting support, measured per channel. First response time is where trust is won or lost: a fast, competent first reply defuses frustration before it hardens, and it is the front end of service recovery, one of the strongest retention levers you have. The mistake is measuring one blended number across channels - email and live chat carry completely different expectations, and a chat customer will not wait hours. Speed without resolution is theatre, though: pair it with first contact resolution so fast replies actually close tickets rather than start a back-and-forth.
Benchmark. Email: under 4 hours, with under 1 hour best-in-class. Live chat: under 1 minute, under 30 seconds with AI. Pair with first contact resolution of 75%+ (the average is 70%) so speed is matched by answers that resolve.